House Democrats are laying down a marker: They’re serious about Donald Trump’s wall not getting any more money. Congress and Trump are going to have to agree on spending bills by this fall or risk another damaging government shutdown, and rather than wait for the Senate, the House is moving ahead with a $986.8 billion spending package that has things to say about wall funding.
“None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act or any prior appropriation Acts may be used to construct a wall, fence, border barriers, or border security infrastructure along the southern land border of the United States,” the bill reads. That means Trump wouldn’t be able to move military money around to pay for his wall—what Congress appropriated the money for is what it is supposed to be used for.
This move by the House comes after a federal judge rejected a congressional lawsuit against Trump’s wall-funding shenanigans, saying Congress doesn’t have standing to sue because it has other recourse—namely, the ability to use the power of the purse to rein Trump in. But, assuming this provision passes the House, it will make for very interesting negotiations with the Senate and a blizzard of veto threats from Trump.